Oakland to Landlord: You Pay Now!

Published November 7, 2008•Updated on November 7, 2008 at 12:15 pm

Justin Jacobson

$5.5 million. That's how much an Oakland landlord who pointed the finger -- a prosthetic one, apparently -- at tenants for leveling property damages that they did not, in fact, level. The multi-million figure wasn't arrived at arbitrarily: between 1997-2007, said crook cheated tenants of more than $183,000. Multiply that by 30 and voila: welcome to a world of pain, Mr. Landlord. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has limited these types of punitive damages to 10 times the amount of compensation; on a brighter note, there are enough loopholes in place that tenants should still be able to recoup their losses, plus a little on the side. False claims of overdue rent; bogus $3 "coat hanger removal" charges; $2,500 for the refinishing of undamaged hardwood floors -- Sound familiar? Right. Dammit, this calls for a link to Will Farrel's most. hilarious. skit. ever. (if you blog about real estate, that is): The Landlord. Happy Friday, people.
· Landlord told to pay tenants millions [SF Gate]
· Renter Tales of Terror: Lower Mission Edition [Curbed SF]
· City to Landlords: Fix Your Shit [Curbed SF]For more stories from Curbed SF, go to sf.curbed.com.